Few films this year will offer you the glorious sense of dread that MALUM does. Based on his short film LAST SHIFT, writer, and director Anthony DiBlasi expands his nightmarish vision with co-writer Scott Poiley to create a lean, merciless thriller. After a nice cold open, we follow newly minted officer Jessica Loren (Jessica Sula) on her very first shift, monitoring a decommissioned police station. We soon learn that Jessica’s motive in requesting this overnight assignment is more than just to serve and protect. It was at this very station that her deceased father Will (Eric Olson) used to serve before going on a bloody rampage. Jessica hopes to gain some sort of understanding of her late father’s behavior while living up to his legacy. Of course, things go horribly wrong and that’s what we are here for. The city outside rages with an increasing number of cult-related incidents. Unrest rocks the city outside and Jessica finds it more and more difficult to stay sane, much less alive. Inventive writing, unnerving pacing, and Sula’s performance make this one must-see.

At first, the night is actually pretty mellow. Jessica tends to the phone and fields the various prank calls that come in. DiBlasi and Poiley let the solitude set in, then make things freaky. A homeless man begins banging on the doors of the station. A pig with a cult symbol painted on its back appears just outside the locked doors. The calls from the outside become threatening and Jessica begins to fear for her life. As the mayhem between law enforcement and the cult followers escalates, Jessica is haunted by terrifying visions within the confines of the station. Where is all this headed? Oh, you’ll find out. Not before enduring a slow simmer of tension punctuated by nasty little scares.

DiBlasi does an exceptional job of building the tension and keeping things interesting enough in a single location.  What could have become a repetitive collection of jump scares is handled admirably with clever techniques. Nicole Balzarini‘s production design helps tremendously in creating a series of unsettling spaces including a nauseating tone of seafoam green subway tiles, rustic cult scrawls, and dark hallways.  Composer Samuel Laflamme, known for his soundtracks in video games rises to the occasion and offers a textured soundscape of foreboding and apprehension. It must also be mentioned that the film just wouldn’t work without the strong female lead that Sula delivers as Jessica. She is definitely green in her job, still altruistic, and well-meaning in her assignment to the community. That is, until things start to happen that weren’t covered in any officer manual.

MALUM has nestled its way into my top ten horror films of the year so far. The movie is disturbing, haunting, and drenched in blood.